Urban Sketching : Denver: People in Action

Once our fantastic books were completed, we began our venture into urban sketching with an independent project to go out and draw people in action. The main thing to remember about drawing people in action is that they are going to move before you’re ready. It’s inevitable. Real life never holds a pose. Once you are ok with that, urban sketching begins to open up for you. If your drawing process requires subjects to sit still, you will never be able to draw anyone outside of a subway car or cafe, or you may be entirely restricted in your subject matter in your urban sketching pursuits.

We want to unlock the ability to draw anyone, doing anything. To tell any story.

Sketch by artist Archie Dalton

sketch by artist Erin Ryan

Our process went as follows: Pencil > Pen > Brush (Pen) >Gouache

• PENCIL - The Gesture aka “The Cloud Scribble” aka “The Ball of String”: An instantaneous “single” line capturing volume, posture, clothing, and narrative . A gesture is so fast, you can capture any subject, no matter how active. It is the scaffold you will build on. It’s the map you will follow.  To begin this type of line, place your pencil down on the page, and keep it down at all times as your eyes dart about the urban environment and you train your hand and your eye to work together to quickly respond to what you see occurring before you.

Sketch by artist Ethan Sares

• PEN - Line Drawing: The Line Drawing is done right on top of the Gesture. Prioritize the important stuff first. Clarify edges of the most significant forms. Your subject is probably walking away about now, unless you’ve chosen someone who can’t escape. (Workers are good, street performers, people playing sports). 

sketch by artist Shiyang Han

• PEN (broad mark/brush) - Spotting Blacks: Properly Spotted Blacks are organized to focus the eye and indicate mass or weight. Darks should cluster around the area of interest and fade out to the edges. Small cast shadows also indicate volume and ‘contact’ with a surface. After this part, you have a solid drawing, so you can go back and erase some of the gesture if you like a cleaner sketch.  I generally enjoy the energy of the gestural line and leave it in the work to add to the feeling of activity.

Sketch by artist Jessica Gutierrez

• GOUACHE - Color Washes: This is the easy part – because this is most likely done after the subject is long gone. But you have your drawing to guide you. Now you get to have fun and make the sketch come to life! Go outside the lines. Use a big brush. The drawing is the scaffold, holding everything up. The color can be playful and it all still works. This is also the time for some opaque retouching with gouache if you like.